Weasley's Robin
by Chewbacca's Lasagna
Summary: From the POV of George Weasley. OFC Alex Robbins is a new student at Hogwarts and has just arrived to complete her seventh year of magical tuition: the same year as George. The pair inevitably fall in love - but will it last? [A/N: THIS STORY WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATED, SORRY!]
1. Chapter 1

I was actually pretty excited about this year. Seventh year -the last year- was supposed to be more fun. Even if we did have N.E.W.T.'s. And even if that Umbridge lady, who had made a speech at assembly, appeared to be a complete cow. Pig, more like. Bloody hell, how much pink can someone wear?

And that's when I noticed her. Standing alone, looking a little lost. Basically, she was gorgeous. And she was wearing a Gryffindor tie. Yes! I nudged Fred and tilted my head in her direction but he just looked at me scornfully. She must have been the first girl that Fred and I hadn't both fallen in love with at the same time. This was a good thing. Finally I could actually have a shot at asking one of my crushes out. Fred always seemed to get to them first. It was so annoying.

Hold on, Weasley, I told myself. You don't even know her. Get. A. Grip.

But I couldn't resist taking another look at her. She was looking at one of the owls that had flew in to the castle and was smiling at it. Ah, a bird lover then. I stored this information away just in case. It could come in handy again one day, you never know.

Fred was looking at me with his eyebrows raised, half smirking. I sighed. I knew what he wanted me to do, but I just didn't have the guts to randomly go up to some hot chick that I fancied and ask her for her name.

But apparently Lady Luck was on my side today.

Suddenly she slipped on something and her papers and books went everywhere. I grinned to myself inwardly and strolled over to help her pick up her papers . . and to ask her name, of course.

"You okay there?" I inquired, helping pick up her papers.

"Uh, yeah, fine," she replied, clearly flustered. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." I told her. "So… what's your name? You're new here, right?" I smiled in what I hoped to be a welcoming manner and she seemed to nearly drop all of her books again. 'Christ, Weasley, don't terrify her!' I thought to myself.

"Alex. Alex Robbins. And, yeah, I'm new here. Obviously." she said with a nervous grin. "I didn't catch your name…?"

"George. George Weasley." I said, grinning back.


	2. Chapter 2

"Nice to meet you," she said, nodding her head awkwardly. Then, noticing my tie, she asked, "I don't suppose you could help me find the Gryffindor common room?"

"Yeah, sure," I replied, still smiling. "It's right up here." And I proceeded to walk up the stairs while she walked on my right. Stop smiling so bloody much, Weasley, I thought. 'It's unnatural.

"So who's the witch who likes to dress in so much pink? I didn't catch her name," she inquired.

"Oh, she's new. Her name's Umbridge. But don't worry; she won't last long."

"No?"

I looked at her again and had to remind myself to breathe. God, she was beautiful.

Alex looked back at me strangely and prompted, "So why won't she last long?"

'Yeah, Weasley,' I thought. 'Great way to keep track of the conversation.' And grimaced inwardly before replying, in what I hoped to an off-hand way," Oh the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors never last for more than a year around here."

She looked intrigued. "Why not?"

We had come to the Fat Lady. I told her, "Mimbulus Mimbletonia," and grinned again at the incredulous look on Alex's face. "It's the password to the Gryffindor common room, you see," I explained to her. "Anyway, no one actually knows why the teachers never last; they just never do anymore."

"I swear this castle just gets more mysterious every five seco-" she cut herself off as we reached the end of the hall. She said, looking around the common room, "This is so brilliant!" And she grinned up at me, her eyes sparkling. I could've sworn my knees had actually started to slightly wobble.

Nevertheless, I got a hold on my self -somehow- and yelled out to all the Gryffindors present, "Oi! We have a new Gryffindor, guys! God alone knows why Dumbledore didn't introduce her in front of the whole school like he normally does with new students but I suppose that Umbridge lump made him forget."

"What's your name, gorgeous?" Lee shouted from the back. I shot him the filthiest look I could muster.

"Alex," she said timidly, blushing slightly. Then, realising that no one would've actually heard her over the ruckus that the excited first years were making, she said louder, "Alex Robbins."

I led her over to where most the fifth years were hanging out and introduced them to her. Then Alex turned to me and began asking questions about Hogwarts, the classes and the professors. All I could think of while she was quizzing me was, 'She chose me to be the one to ask questions to! She chose me!' We sat and talked together for what must have been ages. Alex was really funny and kept making me laugh all the time. In fact, I just couldn't stop grinning like an idiot with her around. She probably thought I was mental.

But I knew, without a doubt, I would not be able to get this girl off mind.


	3. Chapter 3

"Georgey-Porgey, pudding and pie, kissed the girls and made them cry. When the boys came out to play, Goergey-Porgey ran away."

This was becoming the standard greeting that I got from Alex. Apparently it was a very common nursery rhyme amongst the muggles. I'm still not sure what it's supposed to mean. Although I did often wonder what Alex would say if she knew that every time I heard that nursery rhyme, all I could think of was kissing her. But I couldn't tell her what I felt. If I did it would just be so bloody awkward, I'm almost certain that she doesn't feel the same way about me.

"Miss Robbins," I said, lowering my voice and raising my eyebrows up and down at her. She laughed at me and yanked my tie, practically strangling me. "Thanks for that," I choked out.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't actually mean to hurt you!" She looked genuinely concerned and this made me unreasonably happy. It had been two months since the start of school and still I couldn't stop feeling that leap of joy in my heart whenever she showed that she cared about me. I had told this to Fred. He called me pathetic. However, I'm sure he was only joking. Pretty sure, anyway.

"Ready for Umbridge?" I teased her, knowing full well that she hated the woman.

"Ugh. You know, if it weren't for her, Defense Against the Dark Arts probably be my favourite subject. I mean, imagine if we actually got to practice the spells! How fun would that be?"

"Well, up until this year I did get to practice the spells," I reminded her.

"Unfair," she sighed. We entered the classroom side-by-side as usual. We had become terrific friends in the last couple of months and were almost inseparable. Of course she had her own girly friends too, but they knew Alex and I preferred spending time alone together. If only that time alone could be doing what I really wanted to be doing with her; not just talking.

We took our usual seats: I was in the middle with Alex on one side of me and Fred on the other. Umbridge cleared her throat in that annoying little way that she does.

"Hem, hem. Please turn to page…"

And I was already tuning out.

Fred nudged me and shoved a piece of parchment onto my book. It read: Time to try out our Puking Pastels? I grinned at him and he winked back before tilting his eyes toward Alex. Obediently, I passed on the note to her and she smiled at me cheekily. Bring it on, Umbridge.


	4. Chapter 4

The three of us dug into our pockets and fished out a Puking Pastel each. Alex and I looked at each other and grinned. We then both looked at Fred, who whispered quietly to us, "I'll go first. George you go next and then Alex can go after that. See you at Madame Pomfrey's."

And without further adieu, he bit off one end of the sweet.

Almost immediately, Fred turned an extremely violent shade of green. I could have sworn I heard Alex murmur, "Exactly my favourite shade of green. Right there."

I looked at her, amused, but she quickly looked down at her desk allowing her hair to fall across her face. Apparently I wasn't supposed to have heard her.

By then Professor Umbridge was shooing Fred out of the classroom and off to the hospital wing. With a quick pat to her hideously permed hair, she looked around at the class, who knew about the Puking Pastels and were all smirking, and snapped, "What are you looking at? Keep reading!"

Everyone went back to the dismal task with a sigh and, in Lee's case, a very loud groan.

Suddenly, what seemed to be a small, pink ball of fluff, came whizzing through the doorway and proceeded it's strange little flying technique all the way to Alex's shoulder, where it landed. All the girl's in the class 'ooohed' and 'aaahed' over it until Umbridge, having somehow missed the whole thing, told us once again to shut up and read on. I looked at Alex questionably. She passed me a note saying, 'It's called a Pygmy Puff. They're only found in Tasmania but I have a friend called Jess who sent him to me.'

I quickly wrote back,' That thing is a HE?'

Alex gave me a look through narrowed eyes and replied, 'His name is Boris, thank you very much!'

I grinned, winked at her, and unwrapped half of my Pastel. 'See you in ten,' I mouthed. Her amazingly blue eyes sparkled back at me in reply.

It tasted worse than I remembered. Umbridge gave me a look that made me know that she knew I was faking it but, thankfully, she didn't stop me from going to the hospital wing. After a while we were joined by Alex who smiled widely as she told us, "Umbridge looked furious, but she must have known she couldn't dispute it."

We gave each other high-fives and then managed to convince Madame Pomfrey that the best thing for us was to go outside and get some fresh air. She gave us some very suspicious looks before sighing and finally nodding.

Outside it was lovely. Fred seemed really interested in Boris and kept on asking Alex about him.

"Tasmania? Where on earth is that?"

Alex gave him a pitying look. "It's right down the bottom of Australia. You know, the little heart-shaped island where we used to send all the convicts to in the early nineteenth century?"

Fred looked quite lost and settled with replying with a vague, "I see." He clearly didn't see. "And they're very rare, you said?"

"Oh yes, very." Alex replied. "The only people who breed them are in Tasmania. Jess says that they're quite easy to breed as they're very easy to manage. They have a really nice temperament too, I've noticed. Isn't he just peachy?" She gave Boris a little stroke on his tummy with her index finger which resulted in the furry creature making a humming noise, not unlike the purr of a cat.

"So, what do you think?" Fred asked me.

"Definitely." I said.

"Um, am I missing something here?" inquired Alex.

I answered her. "Fred and I are thinking of starting an actual proper joke shop in Diagon Alley when we leave school. Pygmy Puffs sound like a really good business opportunity."

"They do?"

"Think about it," put in Fred. "They're really rare, easy to breed and, apparently, cute. What do you think?"

"I think that's about the peachiest idea you guys have come up with yet!" she replied.

Fred and I looked at each other for a second, having a silent conversation. I'm not sure how we managed to do it; it was just something that we had always done.

I cleared my throat and announced to her extravagantly, even making a little bow, "Miss Alexandra Rose Robbins. Will you do us the honour of helping us start up, and eventually run, a joke shop?"

Alex's entire face lit up. She looked more beautiful than ever. "I would love to!" she gushed.

And so it was settled: Fred and I were going into a partnership with one of our best friends, Alex. The mischief was just about to begin.


	5. Chapter 5

We walked to the very edge of the lake and Alex asked, "Does the giant squid really exist?"

Fred and I exchanged horrified glances.

"Yes!" we both said as once.

"Of course it does," confirmed Fred.

"Yeah, where do you think the calamari that we ate the other night came from?" I added.

Alex looked at me sceptically for a second, her head tilted. "Yeah, right!" she disputed. " You don't honestly expect me to swallow that do you?"

"You already did swallow it. I saw you." I replied, keeping my voice as innocent as possible. "It was on Thursday, remember? You had a coughing fit from not chewing the calamari properly and nearly choked."

"Ha, ha," retorted Alex.

"Fine then. We didn't actually eat the giant squid on Thursday," I admitted. "But it does exist."

Alex looked at Fred for confirmation of this statement. He nodded. She still didn't look convinced.

"You don't trust us?" asked Fred, trying to look surprised.

"Why on earth should I expect you two to tell the truth?"

"Ummm…"

"Ummm…" I also replied.

A moment of silence passed between the three of us before Fred responded, "Yeah, fair enough then."

"But it does exist," I interjected.

Alex looked at me, studying my face for any sign of dishonesty, then smiled. "Fine. I believe you."

Apparently classes were over by then as people were beginning to flood out of the main doors of the castle.

"That's a nice pet you have there," came a distant-sounding voice, though in reality its owner was standing right behind me.

"Oh, Luna, hey." I said. "Didn't see you there."

She appeared to not have heard me and continued to examine the strange fluffy thing. Alex began telling Luna all about it and they then began talking about other things that they thought could compare to something as adorable as Boris. Little tiger cubs, Japanese stationary and heart-shaped pillows took over the conversation topic.

Alex was saying, "Yeah, I have this really peachy beanie that's got, like, a tiger on it. It even has ears and well, I should show it to you sometime because…"

Fred looked at me and merely shrugged. Women. We walked off, leaving the two girls into their completely feminine-dominated conversation.

Once we were back in the currently deserted common room, Fred asked me with a wry smile on his face, "You still have an enormously sad crush on Alex, don't you?"

I opened my mouth, realised that it was a rhetorical question, then closed it again.

My silence made Fred smirk.

"Yeah, I do," I answered unnecessarily.

"You should ask her out."

I was shocked. "What? No!"

"Why the bloody hell not, eh?"

"Because… because…" I faltered. Why wouldn't I ask her out? Oh yeah, that's right. "Because if I do and she says no then that'd just be so, incredibly awkward. And she'll most probably say no. And even if we do go out, what happens if it doesn't work out and we break up? We couldn't still be friends after that! It'd be like saying, 'Well love, the dog died. But we can still keep it.' It's just most likely not going to work."

"You don't know that!" argued Fred. " And why would she say no? You're an amazingly good-looking bloke and your twin brother is the most hilarious person around!"

I gave him a death stare. "You're not helping."

"Georgey, Georgey, Georgey," he reproved. Then he went serious and said, "Listen, mate, it's now or never, alright? Alex is fantastic and all, but if you do ask her out later – when we have a business together – and she says yes but then you end up breaking it off, that's going to be pretty terrible. For all of us. Just ask her out, for God's sake. I'm almost certain she likes you back anyway."

"Okay, okay. Fine." I promised. "I'll ask her sometime soon. Maybe." Maybe.


	6. Chapter 6

I think it's safe to say that I quickly regretted that promise. Every time Alex was near, Fred would conspicuously remember he 'had homework to do' and would leave the two of us alone together. Not that I minded in the slightest. I'm sure he thought he was being subtle but it was embarrassingly obvious. Even Alex noticed though she, thank goodness, had no idea what was really going on.

"Uh, George, can I ask you something?" she asked, her eyebrows knitted together in a frown.

"Yeah, of course," I responded.

"Well, I'm not quite sure how to say this because it's about Fred…" she stopped and bit her lip.

"What is it?' I prompted her.

Alex let out a quiet sigh. "Why's he avoiding me?"

"He's not," I said, too quickly.

"Tell me," she ordered.

"He's not-" But she cut me off.

"I'm not asking you if he is or isn't. I know he's avoiding me. I just want to know why."

"But I said-"

"George!" pleaded Alex. "Please tell me why he's avoiding me! I won't tell him I know, I just want to know, that's all."

Suddenly I was very suspicious. With that suspicion came the greatest wave of jealousy I'd ever felt.

"You like him, don't you?" I growled.

She looked very taken back, but whether this was from my sudden conviction or from the abrupt harshness in my voice, I couldn't tell. I could tell she was in bad mood now; her eyes seemed to be somehow less blue when she was angry. At the moment, they were almost a dark grey. The only problem was, she still had that sparkle in her eyes; that fiery look that she never seemed to lose. It was practically impossible to ever be truly angry at her. The thing is, I wasn't even angry at her. Not one little bit. However I was furious at my bloody brother. 'Bloody Fred gets the bloody girl once a-bloody-gain,' I thought.

If my mood was to be painted right now, all the artist would need is black. Copious amounts of it. It wasn't fair that Fred always won over the girl. And he knew, he knew, how I felt about Alex.

Alex looked like she was about to say something but instead she scowled, did a one-eighty turn on the spot and stalked off. Probably to find Fred. I looked longingly after her. 'Alexandra Rose Robbins,' I said in my head. 'If you only knew how I felt.'


	7. Chapter 7

The following week was dreadful. I wouldn't speak to Fred and he pretended that he didn't know why. Alex and I still weren't talking, stubborn as we both were. The two of them were now always partners when we practiced spells in Dumbledore's Army and I couldn't handle the rage that was constantly built up inside of me so I just left. I reasoned with myself that I had always been better than Fred at Defense Against the Dark Arts and didn't need to meet at the Room of Requirements once a week to practice. In truth I missed it terribly but I couldn't bare seeing Fred and Alex together like that. I was still incredulous that Fred would ever do something like that to me. Any other girl would have been fine but this was Alex we were fighting over. My Alex. And I hated him for it.


	8. Chapter 8

I was walking down an empty corridor while Dumbledore's Army was most likely finishing their weekly session.

"What's wrong?" came Fred's voice from behind me. I whirled around, getting ready to yell at him but stopped myself in the nick of time.

"George? What's wrong?" Ron repeated. Christ, Ron and Fred sounded exactly the same. For some reason I had never noticed it before.

"Nothing's wrong," I lied, blandly.

Ron gave me a look that reminded me so much of mum, I had to bite my lip to stop myself from smiling.

"Look," reasoned Ron. "Just tell me what the bloody hell is going on, all right? It's not exactly brilliant having to see the both of you so miserable." When I continued to remain stubbornly mute, he added, "Is this about Alex?"

I exhaled deeply, shrugging my shoulders. I didn't want to explain my situation to Ron. What the hell did he know about girls anyway? He'd never even had a snog before in his entire life.

He remained, however, to be extremely persistent. "George, tell me," he demanded.

"You wouldn't understand!" I burst out, my voice louder than I had intended. Ron flinched slightly but stood his ground.

"You'd feel better if you let it all out." This was a quote straight from mum and he must have realised it, because his ears reddened. "It's still good advice," he mumbled.

"Ron," I said more softly. "I don't want to talk about it, all right?"

But Ron was stubborn. He looked at me, frowning, as if he was trying to work out the best way to physically beat the truth out of me.

"I'll get Hermione to make some Veritaserum, that'll make you spill the beans," he threatened.

I looked at him, annoyed that he was being so persistent but also quite proud of him for standing up against me.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" I asked.

Ron smirked, confidently. "Nope."

"Fine," I gave in, exasperated. "What do you want to know?"

He softened his facial expression and immediately looked like mum again, this time because he seemed so concerned. "I want to know what happened between you, Fred and Alex."

I began with a sigh and then went on to tell him about how I felt and how Fred felt and how Alex had chosen Fred over me. "…And he isn't even speaking to me, anymore. He hasn't apologised, or anything, for his despicable behaviour." I finished bitterly. "How dare he let a girl come between us?"

Ron looked at one of the moving paintings on the wall while he thought about this, before inquiring, "You really, really are in love with Alex Robbins, aren't you?"

"Yes," I replied, miserably.

Ron seemed to think about this a bit more and then, demonstrating his extraordinary knowledge and depth, said, "Well, that sucks."

I snorted at his reply and then quoted, "Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all."

Ron looked at me as if I had sprouted an extra head.

"Ernest Hemingway. It's one of Alex's favourite quotes," I explained. Then I sighed, realising how much my of recent life had revolved around Alex.

"Oh," said Ron.

"You know, I think Hermione's right," I told him. "You really do have the emotional range of a teaspoon."

Ron opened and closed his mouth several times before finally saying, "Let's not change the conversational topic now, shall we?"

I was about to reply with a sarcastic comment when he butted in, "Wait, did Alex ever actually say, specifically, that she 'liked' Fred?"

Now it was my turn to open and close my mouth like a goldfish. Oh, crap.


	9. Chapter 9

Good grief, how thick could I have been? It was no wonder Alex was so angry at me. She had every right to be. Although I still didn't understand why she hadn't said anything to me since then. Not that I could blame her for holding a grudge, since I had completely jumped to conclusions.

But why hadn't Fred tried to talk to me about it? I had previously presumed he must have been feeling guilty about having stolen Alex away from me, but if he hadn't had a crush on her after all…?

'Maybe he is guilty,' suggested a small voice, somewhere far inside my mind. I frowned. It was possible that I was, again, jumping to conclusions. After all, I reminded myself, Alex hadn't exactly denied my accusation about her and Fred. Bloody hell, I thought. This was beginning to get much too complicated. At least I knew now that there was at least a smidgen of a chance that Alex may possibly feel about me, the way I felt about her. Which was almost impossible, I had to admit, considering the fact that she had been ignoring me for about a month.

I looked at my little brother, suddenly realising I was in his debt.

"What would I do without you, Ron?" I asked him, gratefully.

Ron looked surprised and then just smiled and shrugged bashfully. "I dunno," he mumbled.

A sudden thought came to me, making me suspicious. "Did Fred or Alex put you up to this?" I demanded.

Ron's ears turned a slightly fiercer shade of pink as he answered, "No."

I looked at him through narrowed eyes. Then I laughed, realising. "Hermione?" I asked, grinning at him.

"Maybe," was his reply, as he diverted his eyes from mine.

God, those two were in love with each other, I thought, but didn't actually say anything. Then I had an epiphany. Well, not quite, as I still wasn't sure what that word meant entirely. However I had just realised something that made me feel slightly ashamed. All those years that Fred and I had made fun of Ron and Hermione's little fights I had never realised what it was like for the two of them to not talk to each other. And I also now really felt sorry for Harry who was always left to act as the mediator between them was exactly how Fred, Alex and I were behaving. I had always thought that Ron acted rather pathetically but now I knew how hard it must be for him. For all three of them really. I mean, Fred and I had never had a fight that had lasted this long before. It was like hell, not having my twin brother by my side all of the time. And I was suddenly sure that Fred must be feeling the same way. He was my twin, after all.

I got up to go and look for Fred but Ron stopped me.

"Oi," he said. "I haven't finished talking with you yet."

I just stared at him. "No, I'm pretty sure you have."

Ron grabbed my left elbow and unceremoniously dragged me back down to sit next to him. "Not yet. There's,uh, there are a couple more things I wanted to tell you."

"You mean there are a couple more things that Hermione wanted you to tell me?" I said with a smirk.

Ron looked ever so slightly uncomfortable. "She said to tell you that you should talk to Alex first because, according to Hermione, girls hate being the last to know about things."

"The last to know about things," I repeated. "Even the last to know when it only concerns two people who I need to talk to?"

He shrugged. "Apparently."

I thought this over for a bit and the sighed. "Right," I said. "I suppose I'll go find Alex now, and Fred later."

Ron smiled at me wryly. "Good luck?" he guessed.

'Thanks, I'll probably need it." I answered, knowing how Alex usually reacted to things. The way she had looked at me last time I had seen her would have scared You Know Who. I cringed, remembering. It wasn't fair for someone that beautiful to be able to give poor, unsuspecting citizens like myself a look that deadly.

And so I got up and walked down the corridor to meet, what could easily turn out to be, my deathbed.


	10. Chapter 10

I think it's safe to say that I quickly regretted that promise. Every time Alex was near, Fred would conspicuously remember he 'had homework to do' and would leave the two of us alone together. Not that I minded in the slightest. I'm sure he thought he was being subtle but it was embarrassingly obvious. Even Alex noticed though she, thank goodness, had no idea what was really going on.

"Uh, George, can I ask you something?" she asked, her eyebrows knitted together in a frown.

"Yeah, of course," I responded.

"Well, I'm not quite sure how to say this because it's about Fred…" she stopped and bit her lip.

"What is it?' I prompted her.

Alex let out a quiet sigh. "Why's he avoiding me?"

"He's not," I said, too quickly.

"Tell me," she ordered.

"He's not-" But she cut me off.

"I'm not asking you if he is or isn't. I know he's avoiding me. I just want to know why."

"But I said-"

"George!" pleaded Alex. "Please tell me why he's avoiding me! I won't tell him I know, I just want to know, that's all."

Suddenly I was very suspicious. With that suspicion came the greatest wave of jealousy I'd ever felt.

"You like him, don't you?" I growled.

She looked very taken back, but whether this was from my sudden conviction or from the abrupt harshness in my voice, I couldn't tell. I could tell she was in bad mood now; her eyes seemed to be somehow less blue when she was angry. At the moment, they were almost a dark grey. The only problem was, she still had that sparkle in her eyes; that fiery look that she never seemed to lose. It was practically impossible to ever be truly angry at her. The thing is, I wasn't even angry at her. Not one little bit. However I was furious at my bloody brother. 'Bloody Fred gets the bloody girl once a-bloody-gain,' I thought.

If my mood was to be painted right now, all the artist would need is black. Copious amounts of it. It wasn't fair that Fred always won over the girl. And he knew, he knew, how I felt about Alex.

Alex looked like she was about to say something but instead she scowled, did a one-eighty turn on the spot and stalked off. Probably to find Fred. I looked longingly after her. 'Alexandra Rose Robbins,' I said in my head. 'If you only knew how I felt.'


	11. Chapter 11

The following week was dreadful. I wouldn't speak to Fred and he pretended that he didn't know why. Alex and I still weren't talking, stubborn as we both were. The two of them were now always partners when we practiced spells in Dumbledore's Army and I couldn't handle the rage that was constantly built up inside of me so I just left. I reasoned with myself that I had always been better than Fred at Defense Against the Dark Arts and didn't need to meet at the Room of Requirements once a week to practice. In truth I missed it terribly but I couldn't bare seeing Fred and Alex together like that. I was still incredulous that Fred would ever do something like that to me. Any other girl would have been fine but this was Alex we were fighting over. My Alex. And I hated him for it.


	12. Chapter 12

I was walking down an empty corridor while Dumbledore's Army was most likely finishing their weekly session.

"What's wrong?" came Fred's voice from behind me. I whirled around, getting ready to yell at him but stopped myself in the nick of time.

"George? What's wrong?" Ron repeated. Christ, Ron and Fred sounded exactly the same. For some reason I had never noticed it before.

"Nothing's wrong," I lied, blandly.

Ron gave me a look that reminded me so much of mum, I had to bite my lip to stop myself from smiling.

"Look," reasoned Ron. "Just tell me what the bloody hell is going on, all right? It's not exactly brilliant having to see the both of you so miserable." When I continued to remain stubbornly mute, he added, "Is this about Alex?"

I exhaled deeply, shrugging my shoulders. I didn't want to explain my situation to Ron. What the hell did he know about girls anyway? He'd never even had a snog before in his entire life.

He remained, however, to be extremely persistent. "George, tell me," he demanded.

"You wouldn't understand!" I burst out, my voice louder than I had intended. Ron flinched slightly but stood his ground.

"You'd feel better if you let it all out." This was a quote straight from mum and he must have realised it, because his ears reddened. "It's still good advice," he mumbled.

"Ron," I said more softly. "I don't want to talk about it, all right?"

But Ron was stubborn. He looked at me, frowning, as if he was trying to work out the best way to physically beat the truth out of me.

"I'll get Hermione to make some Veritaserum, that'll make you spill the beans," he threatened.

I looked at him, annoyed that he was being so persistent but also quite proud of him for standing up against me.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" I asked.

Ron smirked, confidently. "Nope."

"Fine," I gave in, exasperated. "What do you want to know?"

He softened his facial expression and immediately looked like mum again, this time because he seemed so concerned. "I want to know what happened between you, Fred and Alex."

I began with a sigh and then went on to tell him about how I felt and how Fred felt and how Alex had chosen Fred over me. "…And he isn't even speaking to me, anymore. He hasn't apologised, or anything, for his despicable behaviour." I finished bitterly. "How dare he let a girl come between us?"

Ron looked at one of the moving paintings on the wall while he thought about this, before inquiring, "You really, really are in love with Alex Robbins, aren't you?"

"Yes," I replied, miserably.

Ron seemed to think about this a bit more and then, demonstrating his extraordinary knowledge and depth, said, "Well, that sucks."

I snorted at his reply and then quoted, "Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all."

Ron looked at me as if I had sprouted an extra head.

"Ernest Hemingway. It's one of Alex's favourite quotes," I explained. Then I sighed, realising how much my of recent life had revolved around Alex.

"Oh," said Ron.

"You know, I think Hermione's right," I told him. "You really do have the emotional range of a teaspoon."

Ron opened and closed his mouth several times before finally saying, "Let's not change the conversational topic now, shall we?"

I was about to reply with a sarcastic comment when he butted in, "Wait, did Alex ever actually say, specifically, that she 'liked' Fred?"

Now it was my turn to open and close my mouth like a goldfish. Oh, crap.


	13. Chapter 13

Good grief, how thick could I have been? It was no wonder Alex was so angry at me. She had every right to be. Although I still didn't understand why she hadn't said anything to me since then. Not that I could blame her for holding a grudge, since I had completely jumped to conclusions.

But why hadn't Fred tried to talk to me about it? I had previously presumed he must have been feeling guilty about having stolen Alex away from me, but if he hadn't had a crush on her after all…?

'Maybe he is guilty,' suggested a small voice, somewhere far inside my mind. I frowned. It was possible that I was, again, jumping to conclusions. After all, I reminded myself, Alex hadn't exactly denied my accusation about her and Fred. Bloody hell, I thought. This was beginning to get much too complicated. At least I knew now that there was at least a smidgen of a chance that Alex may possibly feel about me, the way I felt about her. Which was almost impossible, I had to admit, considering the fact that she had been ignoring me for about a month.

I looked at my little brother, suddenly realising I was in his debt.

"What would I do without you, Ron?" I asked him, gratefully.

Ron looked surprised and then just smiled and shrugged bashfully. "I dunno," he mumbled.

A sudden thought came to me, making me suspicious. "Did Fred or Alex put you up to this?" I demanded.

Ron's ears turned a slightly fiercer shade of pink as he answered, "No."

I looked at him through narrowed eyes. Then I laughed, realising. "Hermione?" I asked, grinning at him.

"Maybe," was his reply, as he diverted his eyes from mine.

God, those two were in love with each other, I thought, but didn't actually say anything. Then I had an epiphany. Well, not quite, as I still wasn't sure what that word meant entirely. However I had just realised something that made me feel slightly ashamed. All those years that Fred and I had made fun of Ron and Hermione's little fights I had never realised what it was like for the two of them to not talk to each other. And I also now really felt sorry for Harry who was always left to act as the mediator between them was exactly how Fred, Alex and I were behaving. I had always thought that Ron acted rather pathetically but now I knew how hard it must be for him. For all three of them really. I mean, Fred and I had never had a fight that had lasted this long before. It was like hell, not having my twin brother by my side all of the time. And I was suddenly sure that Fred must be feeling the same way. He was my twin, after all.

I got up to go and look for Fred but Ron stopped me.

"Oi," he said. "I haven't finished talking with you yet."

I just stared at him. "No, I'm pretty sure you have."

Ron grabbed my left elbow and unceremoniously dragged me back down to sit next to him. "Not yet. There's,uh, there are a couple more things I wanted to tell you."

"You mean there are a couple more things that Hermione wanted you to tell me?" I said with a smirk.

Ron looked ever so slightly uncomfortable. "She said to tell you that you should talk to Alex first because, according to Hermione, girls hate being the last to know about things."

"The last to know about things," I repeated. "Even the last to know when it only concerns two people who I need to talk to?"

He shrugged. "Apparently."

I thought this over for a bit and the sighed. "Right," I said. "I suppose I'll go find Alex now, and Fred later."

Ron smiled at me wryly. "Good luck?" he guessed.

'Thanks, I'll probably need it." I answered, knowing how Alex usually reacted to things. The way she had looked at me last time I had seen her would have scared You Know Who. I cringed, remembering. It wasn't fair for someone that beautiful to be able to give poor, unsuspecting citizens like myself a look that deadly.

And so I got up and walked down the corridor to meet, what could easily turn out to be, my deathbed.


End file.
